The invention generally relates to adhesive form assemblies for mounting a form to a surface. More particularly, this invention relates to an adhesive form assembly in which a form is securely mounted to the surface, yet can be easily detached without damage.
For certain applications, forms must be reliably attached to a surface, yet must also be capable of easy removal. Federal law, for example, requires car dealers to display a form known as a "Buyers Guide" on windows of used cars before offering the cars for sale. These forms are two-sided and are typically adhesively attached to a window so that the information entered by the dealer on both sides of the form is readily visible to a buyer. The law also requires that the dealer give the buyer the original "Buyers Guide" (or accurate copy) that was displayed on the vehicle.
Typically, such forms are mounted to car windows with strips of pressure sensitive adhesives along the top and bottom of the form. While inexpensive, such forms do not remain reliably attached to the window surface. Opening and closing the window to which the form is mounted causes the form to wrinkle or even separate from the window surface. Technically a car dealer may thus violate the law unwillingly through such separation before purchase of the car. It is also important, from an aesthetic perspective that the form remains undamaged because a damaged or wrinkled form conveys an unprofessional image.
One solution to this problem is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,755 to Owens. Owens employs a transparent oversized backing sheet adhered to the back page of a multi-part form. A marginal strip of the backing sheet surrounds the form and is covered with adhesive for securing the sheet (and form) to the window. However, while this solution solves one problem, it introduces others. It is difficult for the buyer to remove the form from the window without destroying the form adhesively attached to the backing sheet. Assuming the buyer can remove the backing sheet without destroying the attached form, then the buyer must laboriously cut off the adhesive marginal area if the back page is to be kept as a record. Furthermore, the backing sheet is made of a plastic material that by its nature is difficult to write on with ordinary ink or lead pencil. A dealer must use a fast drying solvent-based pen or a blunt writing instrument such as a grease pencil to attempt to write clearly in small areas of the form displayed through the backing sheet.
Owens recognized the first drawback of the backing sheet by providing a middle page in his form so that the back page may be discarded. But using the middle page requires the dealer to enter the same information twice--both on the middle page and the back page--since the middle page is not visible when the form is secured to the window. Moreover, the additional middle page adds to the cost of the form.